Prohibited Substances and Methods in Sports 2020

The World Anti-Doping Agency WADA has published the 2020 Prohibited List. The list identifies which substances and methods are prohibited in-competition and out-of-competition and the substances prohibited in particular sports.

Changes made to the list of prohibited substances and methods for 2020 are minor. No new prohibited substance groups have been added to the list. The largest technical change is in group S1.1 where anabolic steroids are no longer divided into natural and synthetic; they are now grouped under the same category. The phrasing was also clarified, especially in the section covering gene and cell doping, to better correspond with the range of modern experimental methods. Argon was removed from the list in section S2 and new examples have been added in different groups. These include: 

– S1: methylclostebol and 1-epiandrosterone as anabolic steroids

– S4: bazedoxifene and ospemifene as selective estrogen receptor modulators

– S6: octodrine as a stimulant; it has been listed as an ingredient in some nutritional supplements produced abroad and resulted in anti-doping rule violations

“The changes compared to previous years are, once again, minor. None of the changes will impact athletes’ medication as the examples added to the list have been prohibited before this and are not available as medicational products in Finland,” says Pekka Rauhala, Medical Expert at FINCIS. 

The Prohibited Substances and Methods in Sports 2020 list will be published electronically in Finnish, Swedish and English on the FINCIS website at the beginning of next year. In addition, the KAMU mobile application is available in various language versions for Android and iOS devices. The search is based on the databases of the Pharmaceutical Information Centre and includes only prescription medication and over-the-counter medicines available in Finland.

WADA’s documents:

Prohibited Substances and Methods in Sports 2020

Summary of Major Modifications and Explanatory Notes

Monitoring Program

Further information:

Susanna Sokka

FINCIS – Information Manager

+358 40 740 7477